Subject:Insert
Entries
Entry 5855
Heard 'em say dat chew kin ketch a bird or a chicken or dog or hog or cow, an' cut a place back of de neck an' put yore hair in it an' let it cure up, an' dey say dat long as dey go, say yo'll go.
Entry 5856
Yo' split de tail of a dog or rabbit, anythin', an' put dat person's hair on dat tail - lay it in dere, fold it an' lay it in dere, an' den sew dat tail back up an' wrap it up so dat it cain't come out. He'll grow back togethah, an' long as dat varmit livin', why dat person will be crazy minded - go tuh de 'sylum.
Entry 5878
Or yo' kin take a stran' of yo' hair an' cut a catfish open an' put it in a catfish an' yo' will, dat will make [you] worry along. Jes' as long as dat catfish wave his tail, dey tell, yo' be goin': (Be going - wandering away.)
Entry 8281
Ah've heard of a person takin' anothah person's pichure, a pichure of 'em, if dey dislak 'em, an' takin' it in de woods an' bo'in' [boring] a hole in dere an' stickin' de pichure in de tree, face downwards, an' den shootin' holes in it. Ah've heard of dat. An' dey'll soon die.
Entry 8320
Take de pichure an' cut a piece out of de tree an' put it in dat place whut chew cut - jis' a piece out de tree an' den nail it back up dere. An' dey say dat will kill 'em.
(Cut a hole in the tree and put this picture in and nail it back up?)
Yessuh.
Entry 8334
Well, yo' see if yo' git anybody tuh snap a person's photograph - now, ah don' keep mah pichures. If ah take a pichure, an' ah lets people look at it - ah'll keep it an' ah'll take it an' ah'll do 'way wit it, becuz yo' could take a man's pichure, jes' have somebody snap it, den go tuh a tree an' bo' a hole in it - a fast-growin' tree - roll it [snapshot] up, an' take an augah, a very small one. Yo' jes' take a li'le bit a [augerl, li'le five-eights [of an inch] an' bo' a li'le hole in a fast growin' tree. An' put it in dere an' jes' grab a li'le dirt tuh smear ovah de end of it. [Hole is filled with dirt, not wooden peg.] Dat's de last of 'em. If yo' don't git it outa dat, he'll die. Dat shows yo' cut it off, cover it
[hole] ovah.
Entry 8479
Well, you open that banana - you see, not far enough for it to be shown - and write that name and put it in, and put it up overhead and the apple too. That will keep them right there with you, just like that urine. That is supposed to make them care for you. [While recording Was stopped I asked informant about the 9 times previously mentioned.] You write the name nine times on the paper, yes sir, and put it in the hole, stick in the hole in the apple or orange or banana; just fix it up, you know, so it won't be laid open. Then you wrap it up into somepin. And then you put it up overhead, anywhere high. When you wrap it, you wrap to you like this [demon- strates] and put it up overhead where they pass by. [Wrapping, as here, is often a magic rite - see later margin title WRAPPING.]
Entry 8522
(How do you do that?)
Well, yo' use a coconut to make a person come to yo'. Yo' take an' pluck out de eyes, but yo' don't let that water come out of there. And you take the name and put it upon this Venrick [brand name?] parch- ment [paper imitation] and put it in there, inside, and you seals it up with the wax that drops from the candle. And just roll it. Start from the front door and be rollin' back inside an' speak to it just like yo' speakin' to 'em an' call 'em by their name. That'll draw 'em to you.
(That will make them come back.)
Entry 8526
(With the coconut, how do you do that?) Well, you take this coconut - get a fresh coconut with the Water in it and you punch out one of them eyes, and.you takes the name and you push it in there. If you want 'em to come to you, why you rolls, take and kick it and roll it to you, thataway. And you call this person name three times. You do's that for three morning on the full of the moon. If you want 'em to go from you, you put the name in there and you kicks it from you thataway. That's what you use the coconut for.
Entry 8741
Ah've heard of a person kin write chure name on a piece of papah, an' go to a tree dat's growin' an' bo' a hole or eithah split a place big enough, an' drive dat name in dere on dat papah, an' let it grow up in dere, an' aftah so long a time dat person'll go clean away an' yo'll nevah see 'em or heah from 'em no mo'. Ah've heard of dat being done.
Entry 8982
Yo' go to de slaughter pen an' yo' get yo' a fresh beef tongue. An' yo' write his name, whosomevah, if yo' kin get dem witness names. Yo' write dem witness name down. Write each witness name down on a piece of papah. An' yo' take dat beef tongue an' split it open just like dis [demonstrates] an' put all dem names in dat beef tongue an sew it back up. An' yo' wrap dat up good an' yo' go on down dere [to court] wit dat in yore pocket. An' sit dere. When de witness get up dere, dey can't talk. All dem tongue-tied, dey can't say nuthin - just cross-talk, dey can't say nuthin. An' yo' goin' to get discharged.
Entry 9362
Dey say dat chew kin take a aig, rotten aig an' put peppah, cayenne pep- pah in it. Jab a little hole, yo' know, in it [the egg]. Put cayenne peppah in it an' shake it up, an' throw it ontuh yuh do' nine days, mawnin's. An' den, whenevah yo' git up in mawnin', take peppah an' salt, an' where yo' walk 'long, jis' sprinkle it all behin' dem. An' dey tell me dat'll make a person move away from dat place. (Now, you mean you take a different egg each morning?) No sir - yes, sir, a diff'- ren' aig fo' nine mawnin's. Dat's whut dey tell me. (In addition to that, you have to put this other stuff in there?) Dey tell me yo' jis' jab a little hole in it [the egg]. (You do both of them, to make them move.) Yes, tuh make dem move.
Entry 11307
Take cat or dog hair an' take a piece of wood an' split de Wood. Stick de hair in dis wood an' nail it down at chure back steps, an' de dog will nevah leave home 'lessen someone taken dat away.
Entry 11858
Dey carry dat to a tree.
(This hair from your head?)
Yes, sir. Take and put it in a tree, and bore a hole in de tree first, and put it in de tree. And I hear 'em say dey take it and make a peg, like a stop- per, you know, and put it in de tree and stop it up in dere. Heard 'em say dat, yes, sir. Stay in dere so many days. If you don't get somebody [hoodoo doctor] to take it off you, why you'll - you bound to go [die]. You're stopped up.
(Stopped up?)
Yes, give you what dey call locked bowels [which will kill you. No M.D. can help you. A common belief].
(I see.)
Entry 12288
Ah heard tell of a person takin' a string - a cord jes' like dey ties - if yo' want a person hurt. Why, where it will kill 'em, yo' know, or sompin like dat. Jes' git some of dis heah string an tie 9 knots in it, jes' as tight as yo' kin. An' bo' a hole into a green tree, any kind of a tree, jes' so it's green, an' put dat knot in it, dat dere string dat chew tied dem knots into dat tree, an' stop it up.
(Don't you say anything or do anything?)
Nosuh, jes' makes 'em sick till dey dies.
(You have to get a string from them, or what?)
Yassuh, from dey house. Anywhere roun' dere house yo' git dat string dat dey been usin'.
Entry 12712
An' if dey wanta run yuh, dey take yore hair, cut hair out de mole [mold] of yore head. And sometime dey do be's fortunate enough to ketch a rab- bit live, split his hide, his skin, and put dat hair in dere. And sew it up in dere and turn him loose an' he [rabbit] run to briar. When dey fin' you [your hair in the rabbit], yo be having yo' head stuck in a briar patch.